Hong Kong stocks await fresh catalysts as Alibaba charges past HK$300 level while Asian markets slip after US sell-off

Hang Seng Index laboured to a tiny gain as traders await fresh catalysts to extend a 5.5 per cent advance from three weeks ago

Alibaba surpasses HK$300 level in Hong Kong in intraday trading on Ant Group IPO approval; Didi Chuxing is getting ready too

Reading Time:2 minutes

The Hang Seng Index laboured to a tiny gain after a three-week advance, while equities major Asia-Pacific markets weakened in tandem with overnight losses in US benchmarks. Photo: AP

Published: 11:17am, 20 Oct 2020Updated: 5:09pm, 25 Oct 2020

Hong Kong stocks struggled for fresh catalysts on Tuesday to sustain a three-week rally as a government report showed further weakness in the local employment market. Most equity markets in Asia-Pacific region retreated after a sell-off in US stocks overnight.

The Hang Seng Index laboured to a 0.1 per cent gain at 24,569.54, having traded between gains and losses. Alibaba Group Holding climbed 0.7 per cent after breaching the HK$300 mark for the first time since its November debut, as its affiliate Ant Group won approval for its stock offering from the bourse operator.

Major stock gauges in mainland China rose. The CSI300 index, which tracks the biggest companies on Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses, closed 0.8 per cent higher to 4,793.47, arresting a 1.7 per cent slide in the past four trading days. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.5 per cent, and the Shenzhen tech board ChiNext jumped more than 1 per cent.

Benchmarks in Japan and Australia declined by 0.4 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively, while South Korea’s Kospi rose by 0.5 per cent. A deadlock in US stimulus talks pummeled US equities overnight, with the S&P 500 Index losing 1.6 per cent, the most since September 23, according to Bloomberg data.

“Hong Kong stocks are relatively resilient after bigger declines of US stocks,” said Linus Yip, chief strategist at First Shanghai Securities. “As Ant Group’s IPO is approaching, investors are taking a wait-and-see attitude, reserving capital for buying Ant Group. Traders are also leaning cautious as they are waiting for the result of the US election.”